Nearly 4 inches long, the “Sand Dune” oyster from Prince Edward Island was so plump, it was bulging out of its shell “like a large breast in a small brassiere,” as Rodney Clark, the owner of Rodney’s Oyster House in Toronto, put it. Intensely briny and wonderfully sweet, the big,…
OysterSpecies Guide There are five species of oysters eaten in the Western world. Crassostrea virginica (C. virginica) Common names: Eastern oyster, Atlantic oyster, Gulf oyster, Blue Point, Malpeque This is the great American oyster, the species that occurs naturally from Canada down the East Coast to New York and Chesapeake…
Stroller count: 3 Dude count: 1 I heard that the chicken salad at Zoe’s Kitchen was The Shit, so I stopped by the Lovers Lane location to check it out. And when I got there, it was clear to me that I hadn’t been fully briefed on the dress code…
Here are some of the leftover bits from the past few days. Officials in Marin County, Calif., are considering the potential benefits of turning food waste into an energy source. The city already does something similar with sewage, but adding food apparently assists the process, according to Stephanie Lovette, San…
When Charles de Gaulle famously moaned “how can anyone govern a nation that has 246 different kinds of cheese,” the Frenchman who best defined national vainglory hoped to excuse political chaos in his country.Geez, the Germans manage orderly governance (and the occasional foray into France) with more than 1,200 different…
The first of a series documenting Chris Meesey’s personal quest for authentic Tex-Mex. But we’ll let him tell you more… I’m a genu-wine Texan, born and bred. In fact, I began life at Nix Hospital, San Antonio–less than one mile from The Alamo, the acknowledged epicenter of the Texas Universe…
Scrambling to find a romantic, yet hip and unique option for Valentine’s Day? Lucky for you, many local restaurants have special menus, special dishes or just special prices to choose from on this, er, special day. Here are some options: Cupid would be proud of Central 214’s naughty new chef,…
Just about everyone with an abiding interest in food knows the name Wolfgang Puck.The Austrian born superstar helped to usher in the era of celebrity chefs after he opened the Beverly Hills destination Spago in 1982. What followed was a series of media raves, television appearances and the creation of…
“The real danger to our bodies and our planet, in terms of poisoning the earth and global warming, is the industrial raising of meat and fish. Do I think eating a bowl of pasta is a crime against humanity? No. Do I think eating half a pound of meat is?…
Jerry Seinfeld once joked that strip clubs are like restaurants where they let you smell the food, then take it away before you can try a bite. So what would he make of the Turtle Creek Chorale and its Valentine’s Day presentation, “Music Be the Food of Love”? This Saturday…
Eatzi’s3403 Oak Lawn Ave.214-526-1515Dude Factor: 5, or Thurston Howell, III, on a scale of 1 (“Carlton Banks”) to 10 (“Jed Clampett”) From the moment the Observer first moved to Maple and Oak Lawn in 2005, lunch runs to Eatzi’s became a frequent occurrence around here, but honestly, this dude never…
Dude!Sweet! chocolates is playful from its name on down. The local, independent chocolatier owned and operated by pastry chef Karen Clapner, recently hit the scene with fun flavors like Curried Banana (yellow curry, banana, African dark chocolate), Black and Blue (Guiness and black currant) and Roasted Beet (Colombian 66 percent,…
He refers to Blue Canyon Kitchen as his dream, an opportunity to create something distinctively American–a fusion of the country’s traditions and regional flavors.Before his Cleveland restaurant began raking in awards, Evans worked as Charlie Palmer’s sous chef. Perhaps that’s where he learned to ignore the city’s ‘mistake by the…
“They still use those names–Colchester, Whitstable, Belon–but those places don’t really produce many oysters anymore. Which means there’s some creative marketing going on.” (Robb Walsh, as quoted by Joyce Saenz Harris in the Dallas Morning News, discussing the importance of place of origin in the oyster market. Hmm…food purveyors and…
Cyclone Anaya’s3211 Oak Lawn Ave.214-420-0030Recent visits to this popular outpost of the Houston-based chain inspire two observations.First, bars and restaurants in Dallas consider the Margarita a child’s drink. Order the famous Tex-Mex cocktail and, with a few exceptions, they bring out something bar-syrup sweet and only vaguely alcoholic, the sugary…
Roti Grill 4438 McKinney Ave., Suite 100 214-521-3655 (Ordered through Diningin.com) Promised Delivery Time: 60 minutes Actual Delivery Time: 50 minutes and the driver got lost The Score:Outsourced call center efficiency (only problem was that the Canada-based representative misspelled my street, though the delivery guy figured it out): -5 Over…
Over the weekend, folks at the Dallas Morning News had their knickers in a bunch thanks to a New York Times travel piece about this city. Granted, author Luisita Lopez Torregrosa put together a couple of suspect statements (see today’s Food For Thought for one example). Her belief that “there…
We all have to start somewhere, and the next Rathbun or Pyles may be just a saute away…at El Centro College’s Food and Hospitality Institute. Their kitchen may not yet be in a rotating ball, but they’re building their basics–and dishing out proof of their knowledge through the college’s meal…
Geez, where does one start? More than just a celebrity, Pyles is one of the few truly important chefs in Texas.He is considered one of the pioneering figures in New American cuisine. Along with the likes of Dean Fearing, he invented Southwestern cuisine, one of the feats prompting the James…
“Not so long ago, Dallas was a culinary wasteland, save for its famous barbecue. But in recent years, celebrity chefs like Nobu Matsuhisa, Tom Colicchio and Charlie Palmer have planted their flags in Dallas, joining a fresh crop of hometown talent.” (Luisita Lopez Torregrosa in yesterday’s New York Times travel…
This is a topic the Burning Question crew takes very seriously. Over the years we’ve encountered, with great concern, people who waive off tequila “because it gets me too wasted,” or those warning against brown liquors and the “mean drunks” that ensue–and so on. Yet they make these claims while…
Around my house, when it comes to lubricating the gears of love, I’m more inclined to reach for a 12-pack of Coors light–for her, not me–than shuck open a bucket of oysters. Those of you who are traditionalists (and have some class), however, might be more interested in the aphrodisiacal…
